


Imagining Me (Remembering You)

by themomentofdavyprentiss



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Season 6, alternative title to this fic:, how many soft touches can I fit into 2k without being repetitive, not season 7 compliant, so yall have about 10 hours to enjoy this before canon makes this irrelevant, throwing this out here the day before s7 drops, you better enjoy it while it lasts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 13:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15631506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themomentofdavyprentiss/pseuds/themomentofdavyprentiss
Summary: Shiro wakes up in his new body, only to find himself full of memories he can’t quite reach—there, but fuzzy and unrecognizable. When Keith approaches Shiro with a plan to recreate the important moments he missed, he discovers he might not have be the only one to have harbored feelings for the new Black Paladin.





	Imagining Me (Remembering You)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kayndred](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayndred/gifts).



> This was a gift for the lovely kayndred as a part of the VLD Creator's Server flash exchange! I tried to fit in everything you asked for, but sadly couldn't work Keitor into the drama. I owe you some good Keitor angst - one day I'll deliver. For now, I hope this Kuron/Keith/Shiro will do.
> 
> Bonus: I listened to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mr_VkAXWZA&frags=pl%2Cwn) on repeat while writing this. Not sure why I'm only just now discovering Sufjan Stevens, but man does he make me want to wander aimlessly through the forest.

_“Keith, where are you taking me?”_

_“I already told you, it’s a surprise!” Keith pulled on Kuron’s arm, guiding him forward. Through the blindfold, he couldn’t make out anything distinct, instead relying on Keith not to lead him into a branch or hole. “We’re almost there,” Keith said, “Duck right up here.”_

Shiro ducked, avoiding the branch he knew would be right in front of him. His arm went slack as he took another step, indicating Keith had stopped walking. “I didn’t have to tell you to duck. How’d you know there was a branch there?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted. “You said we were almost there, and I felt like I should.”

Keith squeezed his hand. “Are you remembering when I brought you here last time?”

“I’m... not sure. It’s like, as we keep going, I remember what I’m doing. I remember being blindfolded and you leading me, but I can’t remember what comes next.”

“I think that’s a good sign. Come on, we’re close.”

_The two continued, weaving seamlessly through the trees and the overgrowth. Though he couldn’t see, Kuron adapted to the forest around him quickly. For most of the journey out, he clung to Keith, but in the final stretch, he was out at arms length, unable to keep up as Keith eagerly dragged him along._

_Kuron picked out the sound of trickling water, growing louder as the two carried along. Keith stopped when the steady rush of water felt only a step away._

_“We’re here,” Keith said as he let go of Kuron’s arm. He reached up to remove the blindfold, but Keith rested a hand over his to stop him. “Wait, there’s something I need to do first.”_

_After a moment of waiting, small bursts of light began to register through the cloth, followed by the distinct smell of smoke._

“I don’t think lighting candles in a forest is the smartest idea.”

A couple feet away, Shiro heard Keith snicker. “I know what I’m doing, don’t ruin the moment.”

Then, Keith returned, retaking Shiro’s hand, using his other to wrap around the blindfold over his eyes. The feel of Keith’s fingernails grazing his temple sent a shock through Shiro’s body, all of the hairs on his arm rising at the sensation.

Keith kept his hand there, not making a move to remove the fabric. “Are you going to let me see where you’ve brought me?” Shiro asked.

Though his vision was impaired, Shiro could tell Keith’s face was only inches from his own. A steady breath of air warmed his face, the smell of cinnamon flooding his nostrils. “No. You know where we are, I know you do. Describe it for me.”

“Keith, I don’t know that I can—”

“Yes you can. Come on, where are we?”

_The blindfold fell away, and Kuron’s breath caught in his throat. They stood in a clearing in the forest. The stream he’d thought they were along turned out to be a small waterfall, trickling into a pool nestled between the far wall of trees. He’d been right—Keith had been lighting candles. They lined the basin of the pool, all flickering to illuminate the leaves above them._

_“This is beautiful. How did you find this place?”_

_Keith smiled, pleased. “Scouting mission with the Blade. I thought maybe I’d bring everyone out here, but—”_

“It was your last night before you left to be with the Blade of Marmora for good,” Shiro described. “You wanted to share it with me; you said you wanted me to have a place that was my own if I ever needed to escape.”

Keith pulled the blindfold down, and Shiro’s vision was filled with _him._ In his peripheral, Shiro could tell the scene around them was exactly what he’d described, but his focus was wholly on Keith, the candles behind him shrouding him in a golden halo.

Keith’s fist, the one holding the blindfold, remained by Shiro’s face, his thumb gently stroking down his cheek. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I did.”

“But that wasn’t the only reason you brought him out here,” Shiro added _—_ not a question, but a fact.

_Keith shifted his stance, no longer meeting Kuron’s eyes. He turned, taking a step away from Kuron, but Kuron instinctually matched the movement, keeping the distance between them from growing._

_“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is everything alright?”_

_“I also—” Keith paused. “ I need to tell you something.”_

_Kuron put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You can tell me anything, Keith. What is it?”_

_Keith looked up at Kuron. His stare was long, hard, exploratory. He was searching for something in Kuron’s eyes, but when he sighed, shaking his head before giving a small smile, Kuron knew he didn’t find it._

_“I’m going to miss you,” Keith settled on._

Keith tried to turn away, but Shiro caught his face in his hand, gently bringing it back. “What did you really want to tell me?”

Keith squeezed his eyes shut, taking in a deep breath before relaxing into the gesture. “I was going to tell you how I felt. That—that I loved you.” Keith’s voice cracked, eyes on the verge of tears as he returned his gaze to Shiro’s. “It’s a good thing I didn’t, though, you know?”

The pit of Shiro’s stomach lurched uncomfortably. “Why?”

“Come on, Shiro. I had no right to say that I loved you. I couldn’t—" Keith hesitated, words catching in his throat. "I didn't know it wasn't you. You were dead and I had no idea. You were _dead,_ and where was I? Moping because I thought you were disappointed in me."

"Disappointed? Keith, I know my memories are pretty scattered right now, but he was never disappointed in you."

_Kuron pulled Keith forward, bringing him into a hug. Keith buried himself into Kuron’s chest, and in turn, Kuron reached up, rubbing soothing circles into Keith’s scalp. “I’m going to miss you, too, Keith. I’m so proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you.”_

"But I wasn't the leader you wanted me to be!” Keith cried. “You trusted me, and I couldn't do it. I let you down."

The tears in Keith's eyes began to fall, and Shiro did the best he could to wipe them away with the thumb he had. "You've never let me down. Even when he tried to kill you, you still believed in him; believed in _us.”_ Shiro brushed a piece of hair out of Keith’s face. “And, he didn’t know, either. He didn’t know he wasn’t me—for all intents and purposes he _was_ me—there was no way you could have known.”

_The two remained locked in their embrace, the only movement coming from Shiro’s hand, still running through Keith’s hair. Kuron’s heart fluttered, slowly processing just how intimate their position was. He hadn’t thought twice about hugging Keith (how many times had they hugged before? Countless?), but this was different. There’d never been a point in time where Kuron just_ held _Keith, and his brain struggled to make sense of the fact that Keith wasn’t pulling back._

_But Keith never pulled back. He’d always been by his side, no matter what, ready to fight whatever threatened to separate them. Why was it that he only realized how much he wanted Keith to stay in the hours before he was going to leave?_

"You know, there was something he wanted to say, too, that he didn't."

Keith looked up at Shiro, expectant. “What?”

“He wanted to ask you to stay _—_ to reconsider going to the Blade of Marmora.”

“Why didn’t—”

Shiro sighed. “He thought you’d say no. And, he thought that that’s what you wanted. He saw how determined and passionate you were about helping Kolivan's cause. In his mind, he thought it was better to let you go and support you from afar than keep you from what you wanted to do."

“I—I didn’t know, it’s like I said, I thought he didn’t want me. I—”

_Kuron willed his heart to calm down, worried it’s frantic beating would alert Keith that something was wrong. If Keith asked him, Kuron wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from confessing feelings he didn’t understand. It was selfish to want Keith to stay, Kuron knew that, and despite the ache in his chest begging him to do something, he knew that he couldn’t._

_“Thank you for showing me this place,” Kuron said, breaking the hug himself. “It means a lot to me.” Keith opened his mouth to say something, but Kuron continued, worried that if they stayed much longer he’d say the wrong thing. “We should probably head back soon. We’ve both got big days ahead of us.”_

_Keith just stared at Kuron, expression unreadable and mouth still slightly ajar. “Oh, right,” he finally said. “Of course.”_

_Without waiting, Keith started walking away, appearing more to escape from the woods rather than simply returning to the castle. Kuron tried to call out to him, but the words died on his lips, leaving him alone in their little sanctuary._

_Belatedly, he remembered the candles. It would be dangerous to leave them lit, so Kuron dutifully blew them out, each one leaving a wisp of smoke in its wake. Every flame he extinguished sent a stab through his gut, and Kuron replayed the conversation in his mind repeatedly until all of their words blurred together._

"He regretted it too, you know? Regretted not telling you how he felt.” Shiro finally dropped his hand from Keith’s face, and Keith quickly captured it in his own.

“And how did he feel?” Keith asked.

Shiro bent down, resting his forehead on Keith’s. “I think he loved you.”

Keith went rigid beneath him. “And you?”

Shiro leaned in, letting their noses brush against each other. “I know I do,” he breathed, erasing the last centimeters between them.

The kiss started slow, Shiro’s lips barely ghosting Keith’s, giving Keith the opportunity to pull away if he wished. Fortunately, Keith didn’t hesitate, and he instantly melted into Shiro as they connected. They moved together as one, Keith curling his arms around Shiro’s neck and Shiro wrapping his arm around Keith’s waist. Keith’s lips parted slightly, and Shiro eagerly matched him, deepening the kiss.

Shiro leaned in even further, but Keith pulled back, just enough to catch his breath. “Can we stay here?”

_When the final flame died, Kuron sighed, absorbing the dark emptiness around him. He stared at the extinguished candles, making no move to leave, when a voice startled him._

_“Shiro, are you coming? I thought_ _—” Kuron looked up to see Keith coming back into the clearing, stopping when he saw him. “Oh, right, the candles. Sorry, they were my idea, I didn’t mean to leave you out here alone to blow them out.”_

_Kuron gave Keith a reassuring smile, walking over to join him. “It’s alright, I didn’t mind.” He began to walk back into the trees, but stopped when he realized Keith wasn’t following him. “Come on,” he said, turning back to Keith. “We can’t stay out here.”_

“Of course we can stay,” Shiro said. “For as long as you want, we can stay.”

A promise settled on the tip of Shiro’s tongue, unable to be spoken no matter how much Shiro wanted to. He could tell Keith felt it too _—_ the unspoken words that they wished would remain true.

“ _I'll never leave you again.”_

  


**Author's Note:**

> *bangs my head against the wall* I think this was the hardest 1.9k words I've ever written before. A word of advice to all you lovely readers: Don't attempt to write something super experimental as a gift for someone, you'll just end up hating yourself. I hope you enjoyed this! 
> 
> Scream with me on [tumblr](http://themomentofdavyprentiss.tumblr.com)


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